In this work, we propose a new physical layer security framework for optical space networks. More precisely, we consider two practical eavesdropping scenarios: free-space optical (FSO) eavesdropping in the space and FSO eavesdropping in the air. In the former, we assume that a high altitude platform station (HAPS) is trying to capture the confidential information from the low earth orbit (LEO) satellite, whereas in the latter, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) eavesdropper is trying to intercept the confidential information from the HAPS node. To quantify the overall performance of both scenarios, we obtain closed-form secrecy outage probability (SOP) and probability of positive secrecy capacity (PPSC) expressions and validate with Monte Carlo simulations. Furthermore, we provide important design guidelines that can be helpful in the design of secure non-terrestrial networks.
In this work, we propose a new physical layer security framework for optical space networks. More precisely, we consider two practical eavesdropping scenarios: free-space optical (FSO) eavesdropping in the space and FSO eavesdropping in the air. In the former, we assume that a high altitude platform station (HAPS) is trying to capture the confidential information from the low earth orbit (LEO) satellite, whereas in the latter, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) eavesdropper is trying to intercept the confidential information from the HAPS node. To quantify the overall performance of both scenarios, we obtain closed-form secrecy outage probability (SOP) and probability of positive secrecy capacity (PPSC) expressions and validate with Monte Carlo simulations. Furthermore, we provide important design guidelines that can be helpful in the design of secure non-terrestrial networks.
In this work, we propose a new physical layer security framework for optical space networks. More precisely, we consider two practical eavesdropping scenarios: free-space optical (FSO) eavesdropping in the space and FSO eavesdropping in the air. In the former, we assume that a high altitude platform station (HAPS) is trying to capture the confidential information from the low earth orbit (LEO) satellite, whereas in the latter, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) eavesdropper is trying to intercept the confidential information from the HAPS node. To quantify the overall performance of both scenarios, we obtain closed-form secrecy outage probability (SOP) and probability of positive secrecy capacity (PPSC) expressions and validate with Monte Carlo simulations. Furthermore, we provide important design guidelines that can be helpful in the design of secure non-terrestrial networks.
High-altitude platform (HAP) stations are pivotal in non-terrestrial networks, enhancing communication capabilities and extending cost-effective network access to rural or remote areas. HAP-assisted free-space optical (FSO) communications provide a promising solution for improving data rates. To safeguard against eavesdropping, especially during emergencies, we propose a physical-layer security mechanism to enhance the control signaling resilience in disaster response and network failure detection. We investigate the secrecy performance of an integrated HAP-based FSO and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-enabled radio frequency (RF) downlink system using the decode-and-forward relaying protocol. While optical links inherently provide better security, our focus is on the eavesdropping threats to the RF link. We derive novel and exact analytical and asymptotic closed-form expressions for the secrecy outage probability (SOP) and the probability of strictly positive secrecy capacity (PSPSC). Our results reveal the significant impact of atmospheric turbulence, RF fading, pointing errors, and optical detection technologies on the overall secrecy performance, providing valuable insights for designing secure mixed FSO and RF downlink communication systems.
In this paper, the secrecy performance of the physical layer security (PLS) of the hybrid free-space optical/radio frequency (FSO/RF) communication system is analyzed. The transmission protocol of the considered system is performed under the eavesdropper's attempt to overhear the RF link between the transmitter and legitimate receiver of the hybrid system. The FSO link is characterized by Málaga-M distribution while the RF links are modeled by Nakagami-m distribution. The two practical eavesdropping modes considered in this paper include: colluding and non-colluding. Exact closed-form expressions for the system's secrecy outage probability (SOP), the asymptotic of the SOP (SOP∞), the probability of strictly positive secrecy capacity (SPSC), the average secrecy capacity (ASC), and the asymptotic of the ASC (ASC∞), are specifically derived under the influence of both eavesdropper modes. Our derived analytical expressions present an efficient tool to investigate the impact of some channel parameters on the secrecy performance, namely the fading severity of the RF links, atmospheric turbulence severity, pointing error of the FSO link, number of eavesdroppers, and the power of the eavesdropper links. The results show that the increase of the eavesdroppers' number under both modes profoundly degrades the considered system secrecy performance. The accuracy of the numerical results obtained is validated by Monte-Carlo simulations.
In this article, we study the physical layer security of free-space optical (FSO) communications under different eavesdropping scenarios. More specifically, the secrecy performance of FSO communication employing intensity modulation/direct detection detection is analyzed for the well-established Málaga channels. Three different realistic scenarios of eavesdropping are considered by assuming different placement locations for the eavesdropper in the paper. Novel expressions for the average secrecy capacity (ASC) and secrecy outage probability (SOP) are derived for the considered scenarios, and useful insights are also provided through asymptotic analysis. The results show: (1) When the eavesdropper is placed near the transmitter, atmospheric condition imposes a less significant impact on secrecy performance; (2) Certain level of correlation can potentially enhance the secrecy performance for FSO communications; (3) The correlation imposes opposite impacts on the ASC and SOP of FSO communications; and the secrecy performance metrics exhibit a non-monotonic impact with the increase of correlation; (5) When the correlation of the FSO links is too small or too large (i.e., the correlation parameter around 0 or 1), the correlation plays a more significant impact on secrecy performance; and (6) The asymptotic slope of the SOP is 0.5 for all eavesdropping scenarios under practical FSO channels.
In this paper, we analyze the physical layer security (PLS) performance of a free-space optical (FSO) communication system composed of a transmitting satellite and ground users. Specifically, the FSO fading channels follow the Malaga distribution. Further, we scrutinize the influence of non-zero boresight pointing errors and angle-of-arrival fluctuations on the PLS performance for the first time. We derived the probability density function and cumulative density function of the FSO link, followed by the closed-form expressions of the secrecy outage probability (SOP) and the probability of strictly positive secrecy capacity (SPSC). The asymptotic SOP expression at the high signal-to-noise ratio regime and diversity order are also provided to reveal the physical mechanism of the PLS of the considered system. Finally, Monte Carlo simulation results are presented to verify the correctness of the analytical expressions. The results afford helpful insights for the future design of satellite FSO communication systems.
In this paper, the secrecy performance of a mixed free space optical (FSO)/radio frequency (RF) integrated satellite-high altitude platform (HAP) relaying networks for terrestrial multiusers with the existence of an eavesdropper is investigated. In this network, FSO is adopted to establish the link between the satellite and HAP for which it experiences Gamma-Gamma distributions under different detection schemes (i.e., heterodyne and intensity modulation direct detection). The transmission between the amplify-and-forward (AF) relaying HAP and terrestrial multiusers is through the RF and is modeled as shadowed-Rician fading distribution. Owning to broadcasting nature of RF link, it is assumed that an eavesdropper attempts to intercept the users’ confidential message, and the eavesdropper link is subjected to Rician distributions. Specifically, the closed-form expression for the system equivalent end-to-end cumulative distribution function is derived by exploiting the Meijer’s G and Fox’s H functions. Based on this expression, the exact closed-form expressions of the system connection outage probability, secrecy outage probability, and strictly positive secrecy capacity are obtained under the different detection schemes at HAP. Moreover, the asymptotic analyze of the system secrecy outage probability is provided to obtain more physical insights. Furthermore, the accuracy of all the derived analytical closed-form expressions is verified through the Monte-Carlo simulations. In addition, the impact of atmospheric turbulence, pointing errors, shadowing severity parameters, and Rician factor are thoroughly evaluated. Under the same system conditions, the results depict that heterodyne detection outperforms the intensity modulation direct detection.